Mwatandala Uli!

Good afternoon!
Tatandala makola, Kwalimwe!
My afternoon is fine, how is yours!
Tatandala!
My afternoon is fine too!
Yewo!
Thank you!
Yewo!
Thank you!

That is the afternoon greeting in Chitumbuka, the regional language of central and northern Malawi. We’ve been taking language classes here this past week, and it has been a lot of fun greeting some of the local villagers who walk through campus!

I never thought I’d be learning three languages at once, but we’re also learning Chichewa and Ngonde. Chichewa is the national language of Malawi (English is it’s “Official” language which, from what I understand, means that is the language in which official business is conducted.), and Ngonde is another regional language of northern Malawi. Apparently Ngonde is more commonly spoken in and around Karonga, up to the Malawi-Tanzania border. However, Chitumbuka is easier to learn, so I think that is why we’ve been placing a focus on it.

I don’t expect to become proficient in any of these languages, particularly because most everyone on this campus speaks English, I will be conducting my work in English, and I will be living with five native English speakers. However, I do hope to be able to achieve some functionality in them. My community job is as assistant shopper, so I will be going into the market each week where few of the merchants have a strong demand of English, so there, I will get to use some of these languages. Hopefully, in the next two years, I can at least make it seem like I somewhat know the language of the people.